The Behaviousist Approach

ASSUMPTIONS
1. BEHAVIOUR CAN BE EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
  1. Learning through association.
    1. Pioneered by Ivan Pavlov in 1904 from his observation on the salivation of dogs, in which the findings represented hwo a food (stimulus) can provoke salivation (response).
      1. BEFORE CONDITIONING
        Food (stimulus) and salivation (response) are both unconditioned.
        DURING CONDITIONING
        A neutral stimulus, such as the ring of a bell, is introduced at the same time as the unconditioned stimulus (food), aqcuiring its properties.
        AFTER CONDITIONING
        The sound of the bell now becomes a conditioned stimulus, that provokes the previous response, which is also now conditioned (conditioned response).
2. BEHAVIOUR CAN BE EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
  1. Learning through reinforcement.
    1. An organism will operate in the environment and as a result will suffer positive (reinforcement) or negative (punishment) consequences.
      1. Skinner (1938) demonstrated this learning with animals (mainly pigeons or rats) in a Skinner Box. The animal would randomly move around the box, until occasionally a lever would be pressed, resulting in a food pellet being released into the box. This pellet acts as a reinforcer, and helps promote the pushing of the lever. Reinforcers increase the probability that a behaviour will be repeated, and punishments reduce this probability.
3. BEHAVIOUR CAN BE EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY.
  1. Learning through observation.
    1. Individuals observe role models, and base their behaviour according to theirs, through vicarious reinforcement. These reinforcements are represented as expectancies of future outcomes i.e. are expected to happen every time that behaviour is repeated.
      1. Observation may lead to learning itself, however the performance of this learning is related to external factors. When executing observed behaviours, these behaviours will be performed in the expectation that reward will be more likely than punishment, this execution also relies on whether the individual has the skills to perform the behaviours.
        Said behaviours are maintained through further reward of the displayed behaviour, this is called direct reinforcement.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY OF AGGRESSION
1. Albert Bandura believed that direct experiences could not be the only explanation for the acquisition of new behaviours, specifically aggression. Bandura's theory allows us to study the specifics of behaviour, for example how aggressive nature is executed, how often etc.
  1. MENTAL REPRESENTATION
    1. Bandura claimed that for social learning to take place, children must make mental representations of the behaviours in their social environment. They must also represent and evaluate the possible rewards or punishments connected to these aggressive behaviours in terms of expectancies of future outcomes. When appropriate oppurtunities arrive, children will display the behaviour provided by the expectation of reward is greater than the expectation of punishment.
  2. MAINTENANCE THROUGH DIRECT EXPERIENCE
    1. Social learning is further emphasised when children actually experience direct reinforcement, such as rewards for aggressive behaviour.
2. OBSERVATION
  1. Children primarily learn aggressive behaviour through observation - watching the behaviour of role models and aiming to imitate that behaviour if reinforcement is received. Whereas Skinners ideas represented learning as entirely direct, Bandura's ideas represent learning as indirect.
    1. Children also learn the consequences of aggressive behaviour through observing the results of observed aggression around them. This is known as indirect or vicarious reinforcement.
      1. Children witness much violence, in home situations, at school, on television, and it is the consequences (reinforcement or punishment) that is relayed in these situations that form a child's belief of correct conduct in the world around them.
3. THE BOBO DOLL STUDY
  1. Albert Bandura et al (1961) aimed to demonstrate how aggressive behaviour canbe replicated through the observed learning of a role model.
    1. Very young children (aged 3-5) were arranged to watch an adult playing with toys. Half of the children were shown an adult being aggressive with an inflatable Bobo doll, the other half were shown an adult not showing any aggressive tendencies.
      1. The results showed that those who had seen aggressive behaviour with the Bobo doll were more aggressive towards the Bobo doll themselves, and those who did not see such aggression were not aggressive at all. Those in the group that saw the aggression began striking the Bobo doll with a mallet, and kicking it around the room, which was accompanied by verbal aggression, such as saying the word "POW". Children in the aggression group also showed signs of frustration when they were shown a toy that they were not allowed to play with.
  2. THE MOTIVATION FOR AGGRESSION
    1. An experiment by Bandura and Walters (1963) provides evidence into why children perform these aggressive acts. One group were shown an asdult being rewarded for aggressive behaviour, another were shown an adult being punished for aggressive behaviour, and a third were shown an adult having neither consequence for their aggressive behaviour.
      1. The results showed that those who had seen the adult being rewarded for aggressive behaviour committed more aggressive acts, whereas those who had seen adults being punished for aggressive acts committed considerabely less aggressive acts. Those in the control group were at some point in between the previous two results.

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